The Distance Between Them | ✔

2) Quest

⚔ In which Link makes a friend ⚔  

It's not quite as scary past the wall of the Plateau as I thought it would be. There are more monsters, different sizes and colors, but I can avoid them. It's easier to sneak by them while they're distracted. When I land, I land on the road. There's instantly a bunch of other ruined buildings around me. I wander around a bit, picking up old weapons to use, avoiding sleeping monsters, looting some old pots or piles of rubble for arrows or gems, anything that might be useful. I also happen to find a few more Forest Children. I like them. They're cute and happy and make me smile.

When I leave the Outpost, I keep walking. I can see a tower nearby. I should go there next, so I can see where I am. There's a bridge over a lake. It's very loud, and the bridge – like what seems like everything else in this kingdom – is falling apart. Bits of the railing are falling into the lake, rubble littering the sides. I kick stones as I walk along the path. There's a person here, looking toward the castle. When I get closer, he turns.

"Hello there. Are you familiar with omens?" he asks. I shake my head. "I've seen some bad ones in my day, but this is no doubt the worst. You see that machine there?" he asks, pointing to one of the rusty spider-like machines down by the riverbed. I nod. "One of their kind attacked me a while ago. Scared me out of my wits. And there are many around the old castle. Ones that walk, fly, or just sit there and shoot lasers! Say, what's your name, boy?"

I have to think a moment. I'm not one-thousand percent sure myself, but this is what the king and voice called me. "Link..." I say softly.

He nods. "Well, Link. If you ever go 'round to the castle, be careful. Never know when one of these things will try and getcha' from behind." He turns back to his watching after I nod.

I keep going, back on my way.

I reach and climb the tower easily. It's different from the one on the Plateau, but it's not all that hard. When I hit the ground again, I look at the map. I'm near Dueling Peaks. The yellow dot on the map glows not too far from here. I walk through the mountain.

The mountain is split down the middle, with a river flowing through it. I walk along one of the cliffsides to avoid a monster camp. On the other side, there's a huge field, a structure with people bustling around, and horses.

Horses!

I run across the bridge that separates me from the structure, and run the rest of the way. There are a bunch of people here. Some inside, some by the cooking pot. Nobody pays me much mind, but that's fine. There is one person with a huge backpack. It looks like a bug. The structure itself looks like a horse's head. A sign out front reads "stable and inn" and horses sit in a hut outside. Wild horses wander around the field behind it. The field is also littered with Guardians and monsters, but none seem to be bothering the people.

Before talking to the people, I decide I need a horse. It'll help me blend in more, and help me get around. I crouch into the tall grass and get behind a horse with pink spots. It's the prettiest. Once I get close enough, I hop on, soothing it before it can kick me off. After a moment, it stops fighting. I grab him by the mane and lead him toward the stable, and keep soothing him so he won't kick me off. I don't know how I knew how to do that. It was like I was on autopilot again.

Before I talk to the guy at the stable, I stop the man with the big backpack. I'll probably need money to keep my horse, and I'll need a saddle. The king told me there isn't a free item in this world. When the man sees me, he smiles and pulls down a little table that was attached to the backpack. He trades me my ambers and opals for Rupees, way more than I probably need. I thank him, and go back to the stable.